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I am 40 yrs. old and I am basically homebound which I am sure everyone can relate too. I have severe IBS with Diareah(spelling) and severe stomach pain, gas, bloating, and swelling I have had all tests and all came back normal, to me how can this be normal? I am lomitil it really helps but not 100% and I feel like im alone. my stomach is so swollen that people ask me if Im expecting, my weight goes up and down. I have kept a food journal and I am just as lost as I ever been no one food sticks out because it happens with all foods. I dont even have to eat and I am running! I have been tested for stomach cancer since that runs in my family as well as pancreatic cancer..I dont know if thats related or.. another thing is I am lactose intollerant and suffer from acid reflux. I just dont know what to do about the pain it is unbearable, I cant work because of this so depression sets in I am lucky I do have a husband who is very supportive. any ideas or suggestion please help I feel so alone and at times feel like doctors and people in general look at me like im crazy I am so embarassed to. I also get the oh well you dont look sick so you must be healthy.

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9 Replies |Watch This Discussion | Report This| Share this:Im new this group IBS is ruining my lifeI am 40 yrs. old and I am basically homebound which I am sure everyone can relate too. I have severe IBS with Diareah(spelling) and severe stomach pain, gas, bloating, and swelling I have had all tests and all came back normal, to me how can this be normal? I am lomitil it really helps but not 100% and I feel like im alone. my stomach is so swollen that people ask me if Im expecting, my weight goes up and down. I have kept a food journal and I am just as lost as I ever been no one food sticks out because it happens with all foods. I dont even have to eat and I am running! I have been tested for stomach cancer since that runs in my family as well as pancreatic cancer..I dont know if thats related or.. another thing is I am lactose intollerant and suffer from acid reflux. I just dont know what to do about the pain it is unbearable, I cant work because of this so depression sets in I am lucky I do have a husband who is very supportive. any ideas or suggestion please help I feel so alone and at times feel like doctors and people in general look at me like im crazy I am so embarassed to. I also get the oh well you dont look sick so you must be healthy.

Hi cinnamonpeaches, I am sorry your are having so much trouble with the IBS. I can relate. My stomach pain used to be so severe that my body would go into a reaction to the pain involving vomiting, diarrhea, and a drastic drop in blood pressure. Never actually fainted because I would lie down wherever I was. That started when I was 43. When I was 49, I stopped drinking coffee for other reasons. One very happy effect from that was that I don't get the severe stomach pain. I do still have the gas, bloating and pain, but that really bad stuff just doesn't happen anymore. I tend toward constipation more frequently that the other, so I guess in a sense am "lucky" but I do have very urgent calls when I am out. I don't know if you drink coffee but you might try cutting it out and see what happens. If you could start getting an edge on it, then maybe you could get more guidance from your food journal. Stress is also a trigger, so it is a bit complicated. Learning a way to calm yourself is really helpful.

Other things that might help are a hot water bottle on your belly to help relax things and lots of fennel tea. Peppermint is also recommended and helped me, but it would make your reflux worse so you should not use peppermint.

Best wishes

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Report This| Share this:Im new this group IBS is ruining my lifeHi cinnamonpeaches, I am sorry your are having so much trouble with the IBS. I can relate. My stomach pain used to be so severe that my body would go into a reaction to the pain involving vomiting, diarrhea, and a drastic drop in blood pressure. Never actually fainted because I would lie down wherever I was. That started when I was 43. When I was 49, I stopped drinking coffee for other reasons. One very happy effect from that was that I don't get the severe stomach pain. I do still have the gas, bloating and pain, but that really bad stuff just doesn't happen anymore. I tend toward constipation more frequently that the other, so I guess in a sense am "lucky" but I do have very urgent calls when I am out. I don't know if you drink coffee but you might try cutting it out and see what happens. If you could start getting an edge on it, then maybe you could get more guidance from your food journal. Stress is also a trigger, so it is a bit complicated. Learning a way to calm yourself is really helpful.

Other things that might help are a hot water bottle on your belly to help relax things and lots of fennel tea. Peppermint is also recommended and helped me, but it would make your reflux worse so you should not use peppermint.

thank you pawsns, for your reply, I will try that I do drink coffee last year I stopped drinking coffee and started drinking tea (I dont really like tea) but it didnt really help so I said well if this doesnt work I might as well enjoy what Im drinking lol. but I am willing to try it again. the food journal stresses me out cuz I cant find anything but dairy that bothers me and I try to stay away from that as much as possible but I am lactose intolerant. Lactose is in alot of things so I know to look at the labels cuz it doesnt have to be a dairy thing. I found out that medication I got had lactose! and lately my life has been under a lot of stress so I do know that is a trigger! well I am gonna keep trying and thank you again for some suggestions

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Report This| Share this:Im new this group IBS is ruining my lifethank you pawsns, for your reply, I will try that I do drink coffee last year I stopped drinking coffee and started drinking tea (I dont really like tea) but it didnt really help so I said well if this doesnt work I might as well enjoy what Im drinking lol. but I am willing to try it again. the food journal stresses me out cuz I cant find anything but dairy that bothers me and I try to stay away from that as much as possible but I am lactose intolerant. Lactose is in alot of things so I know to look at the labels cuz it doesnt have to be a dairy thing. I found out that medication I got had lactose! and lately my life has been under a lot of stress so I do know that is a trigger! well I am gonna keep trying and thank you again for some suggestions

Your welcome cinnamonpeaches! By the way, I love your name. Regarding coffee.....as I think about it, I actually stopped all caffeine. That means I stopped coffee, black tea and all my diet soda. Soda is another trigger I did this for my bone health. The improvement in my IBS was a surprise. I did not stop eating chocolate, but did cut back. I ate a lot....

I enjoy drinking rooibos (red bush tea) which is naturally caffeine free. I like an assortment of herbal teas and drink an occasional decaffeinated green tea (Lotus by Tazo is a favorite).

Food journals are not something I have ever done, although it seems like it could be helpful. Everybody is different though. There is more that one way to find solutions. My doctor told me originally that food has nothing to do with it. So I wasn't looking that direction, although i did avoid things like too much cabbage, green peppers et. that clearly made me feel bad. Best wishes!

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Report This| Share this:Im new this group IBS is ruining my lifeYour welcome cinnamonpeaches! By the way, I love your name. Regarding coffee.....as I think about it, I actually stopped all caffeine. That means I stopped coffee, black tea and all my diet soda. Soda is another trigger I did this for my bone health. The improvement in my IBS was a surprise. I did not stop eating chocolate, but did cut back. I ate a lot....

I enjoy drinking rooibos (red bush tea) which is naturally caffeine free. I like an assortment of herbal teas and drink an occasional decaffeinated green tea (Lotus by Tazo is a favorite).

Food journals are not something I have ever done, although it seems like it could be helpful. Everybody is different though. There is more that one way to find solutions. My doctor told me originally that food has nothing to do with it. So I wasn't looking that direction, although i did avoid things like too much cabbage, green peppers et. that clearly made me feel bad. Best wishes!

Hi pawsns, thank you very much for the replies, I love coffee but have cut back a lot thinking i might have to cut it out completely, my problem is soft drink I love my pop!! with the food I am having a hard time with figuring it out, most of the time I dont have to eat and I am running!! and the 24/7 stomach pain it seems like its never gonna go away!! and the doctors seem to never able to find anything wrong!! the last few days I have the stomach flu so nothing is staying in and of course my IBS is acting up overtime! have a great day

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Report This| Share this:Im new this group IBS is ruining my lifeHi pawsns, thank you very much for the replies, I love coffee but have cut back a lot thinking i might have to cut it out completely, my problem is soft drink I love my pop!! with the food I am having a hard time with figuring it out, most of the time I dont have to eat and I am running!! and the 24/7 stomach pain it seems like its never gonna go away!! and the doctors seem to never able to find anything wrong!! the last few days I have the stomach flu so nothing is staying in and of course my IBS is acting up overtime! have a great day

Cinnamonpeaches! I stopped drinking coffee years ago. I now drink green tea in the morning and earl grey for a caffeine hit. It doesn't affect me.I just had my gallbladder out. I cut out a lot of things trying to cut out the nausea and pain. So-- No... lactose, gluten(my arthritis symptoms went away!!), preservatives, soybean oil (it is everywhere!!), high fructose corn syrup (they call it corn sugar now). I can't think of any more. I do eat chocolate but only 90% cocoa by Lindt. I even get it at Walmart. This is a very restrictive diet and it doesn't work sometimes because of the gall bladder. I am so glad I am not working because the attacks are horrible and I need to be near a toilet. I am so sorry that my 2 youngest sons didn't have the mother my 2 oldest boys had. My oldest son can't seem to realize I am not the same person I was when he was growing up. I don't know why this gets worse with age. I knew I had to be careful when I was younger. My doctors are not any help. I am sick of being blamed for this condition.. Sorry Cinnamonpeaches! I had gall bladder surgery 9 weeks ago and one of the side effects is extreme diarrhea! Nobody told me! Didn't they read my chart? I help myself now. she wanted to wait a week to see if it went away! i was suffering then! I can't leave the house unless I over medicate on anti-diarrheals. The backlash from that is bad. I am so sorry I am complaining. I just have bad heartburn from lunch. I can't figure out why. Look-you can give up coffee. You should have seen my oldest sons eyes bug out when I told him I wasn't a coffee drinker anymore!! It was funny! lol There is hope. I just feel overwhelmed today and I have to leave the house in an hour. nerves.

Thanks for your Reply!

Report This| Share this:Im new this group IBS is ruining my lifeCinnamonpeaches! I stopped drinking coffee years ago. I now drink green tea in the morning and earl grey for a caffeine hit. It doesn't affect me.I just had my gallbladder out. I cut out a lot of things trying to cut out the nausea and pain. So-- No... lactose, gluten(my arthritis symptoms went away!!), preservatives, soybean oil (it is everywhere!!), high fructose corn syrup (they call it corn sugar now). I can't think of any more. I do eat chocolate but only 90% cocoa by Lindt. I even get it at Walmart. This is a very restrictive diet and it doesn't work sometimes because of the gall bladder. I am so glad I am not working because the attacks are horrible and I need to be near a toilet. I am so sorry that my 2 youngest sons didn't have the mother my 2 oldest boys had. My oldest son can't seem to realize I am not the same person I was when he was growing up. I don't know why this gets worse with age. I knew I had to be careful when I was younger. My doctors are not any help. I am sick of being blamed for this condition.. Sorry Cinnamonpeaches! I had gall bladder surgery 9 weeks ago and one of the side effects is extreme diarrhea! Nobody told me! Didn't they read my chart? I help myself now. she wanted to wait a week to see if it went away! i was suffering then! I can't leave the house unless I over medicate on anti-diarrheals. The backlash from that is bad. I am so sorry I am complaining. I just have bad heartburn from lunch. I can't figure out why. Look-you can give up coffee. You should have seen my oldest sons eyes bug out when I told him I wasn't a coffee drinker anymore!! It was funny! lol There is hope. I just feel overwhelmed today and I have to leave the house in an hour. nerves.

I am 45 and got diagnosed a year and a half ago...Just want u to know it feels like im reading my own story..Cant work,swollen belly,acid reflux..etc. It is embarrising and peple think the same...O well you look normal...until i show my swollen belly...

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Report This| Share this:Im new this group IBS is ruining my lifeI am 45 and got diagnosed a year and a half ago...Just want u to know it feels like im reading my own story..Cant work,swollen belly,acid reflux..etc. It is embarrising and peple think the same...O well you look normal...until i show my swollen belly...

the medical community knows changing the angle of your colon = better bowel movements. i have recently tried a squatty potty and it has helped with my IBS symptoms. I have heard that loose stools are (counter-intuitive) are actually a side effect of incompletel bowel movements. It's a godsend!squattypotty.com . I hope it helps you too!

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Report This| Share this:Im new this group IBS is ruining my lifethe medical community knows changing the angle of your colon = better bowel movements. i have recently tried a squatty potty and it has helped with my IBS symptoms. I have heard that loose stools are (counter-intuitive) are actually a side effect of incompletel bowel movements. It's a godsend!squattypotty.com . I hope it helps you too!

A hard and stiff abdomen often causes stress, strain and digestive disorders like ibs, indigestion, bloating, flatulence, chronic constipation or diarrhea etc. Hence ideally our belly should be small, soft, tender, yet, at the same time strong, supple and flexible to support our body. This may sound absurd. But I assure you that it is very much possible. Anyone, with a little bit of practice and patience, can make it happen himself. If we observe the breathing pattern of infants and young children. we will find that usually their breathing is relaxed and effortless. Their chest do not move much, rather their chest and belly gently move up and down simultaneously during breathing. Whereas we usually breathe moving only our chest and shoulder while our belly remains more or less static or stiff. No, I am not talking about so-called "abdominal breathing" in which, the chest is forcibly kept still and only the abdomen moves. I am telling about "normal" breathing involving simultaneous effortless movements of chest and abdomen. So our target will be to very slowly involve our belly to move while breathing and to gradually reduce stress on our chest and shoulders. The most important thing is proceed slow but steady. Never apply any force or pressure during this process. Be patient and wait for results to come automatically. At beginning, by put your palm of your hand on your belly and observe whether your belly is soft and tender, or stiff and hard; whether it is moving up and down in breathing or remains static and fixed. Do not try to keep your chest still. Allow it to move on its own. Then try to relax your whole body, particularly your abdomen, chest and shoulders. Do not use force to push up or down your belly. Do not unnecessarily try to take deep inhale or deep exhale. Rather just watch your breathing. Keep focus on your belly. Feel your belly. Just observe your breathing pattern and relax. Keep in mind the target- that ultimately the stress on your chest and shoulders will be reduced and your chest and belly will smoothly and automatically move up and down together in breathing. Such movements will be not big or heavy, rather small, quiet and easy. Also observe closely the breathing patterns of people around you. After some time, you yourself will be able to find out who is breathing normally and healthily, and who is not. Gradually and slowly, after months of practice, your belly will start to move automatically together with your chest while you inhale and exhale. You will enjoy it. Your body and mind will get multiple benefits. It is worth trying for at least a couple of months. Let us hope for the best. Good wishes.

Thanks for your Reply!

Report This| Share this:Im new this group IBS is ruining my lifeA hard and stiff abdomen often causes stress, strain and digestive disorders like ibs, indigestion, bloating, flatulence, chronic constipation or diarrhea etc. Hence ideally our belly should be small, soft, tender, yet, at the same time strong, supple and flexible to support our body. This may sound absurd. But I assure you that it is very much possible. Anyone, with a little bit of practice and patience, can make it happen himself. If we observe the breathing pattern of infants and young children. we will find that usually their breathing is relaxed and effortless. Their chest do not move much, rather their chest and belly gently move up and down simultaneously during breathing. Whereas we usually breathe moving only our chest and shoulder while our belly remains more or less static or stiff. No, I am not talking about so-called "abdominal breathing" in which, the chest is forcibly kept still and only the abdomen moves. I am telling about "normal" breathing involving simultaneous effortless movements of chest and abdomen. So our target will be to very slowly involve our belly to move while breathing and to gradually reduce stress on our chest and shoulders. The most important thing is proceed slow but steady. Never apply any force or pressure during this process. Be patient and wait for results to come automatically. At beginning, by put your palm of your hand on your belly and observe whether your belly is soft and tender, or stiff and hard; whether it is moving up and down in breathing or remains static and fixed. Do not try to keep your chest still. Allow it to move on its own. Then try to relax your whole body, particularly your abdomen, chest and shoulders. Do not use force to push up or down your belly. Do not unnecessarily try to take deep inhale or deep exhale. Rather just watch your breathing. Keep focus on your belly. Feel your belly. Just observe your breathing pattern and relax. Keep in mind the target- that ultimately the stress on your chest and shoulders will be reduced and your chest and belly will smoothly and automatically move up and down together in breathing. Such movements will be not big or heavy, rather small, quiet and easy. Also observe closely the breathing patterns of people around you. After some time, you yourself will be able to find out who is breathing normally and healthily, and who is not. Gradually and slowly, after months of practice, your belly will start to move automatically together with your chest while you inhale and exhale. You will enjoy it. Your body and mind will get multiple benefits. It is worth trying for at least a couple of months. Let us hope for the best. Good wishes.

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